


In a Wasteland

by Yakarmi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - War, Blood and Injury, Enemies to Lovers, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, M/M, Minor Character Death, Pining, Reincarnation, Running Away, They did not love each other in canon, possible manga spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28329957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yakarmi/pseuds/Yakarmi
Summary: Squad massacred and alone, Levi's only concern is making it out of the forest alive. That is, until he comes across a young man with brilliant green eyes that bring back memories from a past life.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 21
Kudos: 173





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Posting while there's still time on Christmas for Levi's birthday!
> 
> This will be the first chapter of three to come. Not yet written, but definitely planned out.

Levi hadn’t seen another human for two days.

Weaving around the wide trunks, Levi made sure to trod carefully. Each foot landed lightly on the solid ground, aiming to hop between stones and avoid leaving tracks. It was slow, but significantly lowered the risk of getting caught. He was in enemy Eldian territory and his squad had been wiped out a week ago. The memory was still fresh and painful in Levi's mind.

It was a little past midnight when Oulo had fallen asleep while on lookout.

His head rolled into Levi’s tent what must have only been minutes after they found them, eyes still closed.

Monsters.

Levi squeezed his eyes shut, leaning against a tree and taking a deep breath. Petra’s wide, unblinking amber eyes stared through his lids, cutting through his consciousness. He could still imagine the determination she had looked at him with only a month earlier when they were assigned their mission.

 _It’ll be a simple scouting mission,_ Erwin reassured, ever the devoted commander. _Get in, make a few map markings and get out._

Petra has replied with a “Yes sir” more determined than ever before. She was eager. Her request for a leave of absence had been approved only a few days ago. Her father was going to have surgery and needed someone to look after him. She had gotten permission to leave after this “simple scouting mission.”

Simple scouting mission his ass.

Levi pushed himself up off the side of the large trunk and kept moving. He banished the dark thoughts to the tiny recesses of his mind for him to never process. He didn’t have time to consciously mourn. In his escape he had been able to dispose of some of the opposing soldiers, but a few were still left standing. For the first few days the snap of a twig meant enemy and the slight murmuring of the wind signaled unfriendly chatter. Now, when he heard a rustling of the leaves it was more likely to be a rabbit.

He didn’t like it.

It had turned into a waiting game with Levi waiting for the other shoe to drop. All Levi could do was keep walking and pray that he could find his way out before the Eldian army found him.

He looked up past the tree tops to the horizon. In the distance stood the snow glazed mountain range that marked freedom. His eyes squinted against the sun, calculating how long it would take for him to reach. Perhaps another day of his normal speed. Two if he was being careful. Levi would hike through the night.

Only a few steps more and Levi could make out the babbling of a small stream up ahead. He sagged in relief. His flask was getting light and a layer of grime had built up over the past few days. The prospect of cleaning up was attractive enough to tempt fate, if only for a few minutes. Levi sped up.

At the edge of the stream Levi carefully dipped his flask into the clear water before securing it to his belt and starting to undress, carefully folding his clothes on a nearby rock. He left his gun only an arms length away.

The water was almost unpleasantly cool, but the brisk temperature revived some of Levi’s spirits. Especially when he watched the dirt that had attached itself to his body drift away in brown tendrils. This was the most clean he’d felt in weeks and he could almost imagine he wasn’t in enemy territory surrounded by people who wanted to kill him. He splashed some water onto his face and scrubbed, feeling the shadow of bristles that had grown. As he washed, he let his mind wander to the warm bath he would be sure to take as soon as he made it back to base. With soap. How Levi missed soap.

The chill of the river started to soak into his bones and Levi decided it was time to get out. He had made it out onto the rocks besides the stream, just buttoning up his jacket when he heard shouting and shots being fired in the distance.

Blood rushed through his veins as adrenaline pumped through his system. He swung his bag around his shoulder, shirt still half unbuttoned, and jumped behind the nearest bush. There was a boulder right next to him that Levi supposed could act as a shield if he crouched low enough. His hand clenched around the barrel of his gun and cocked it.

He aimed ahead of him in the direction where the commotion was still ongoing. There were screams. Levi tried not to think of his squad.

This was it. The other shoe had finally dropped. Levi was certain he could handle two, maybe even three, men easily, but judging by the number of shots this squirmish was anything but small.

But where there was fighting meant more of his men. Maybe his side would win and they could all make it back together. Safety in numbers and all that. He let his hopes rise, breath hitching as he held still. Waiting.

There was a shot and he looked up to the sky to see a stream of green smoke. Eldian smoke. His side has lost.

Levi should have known, he was never that lucky. He was a dead man walking. 

His hand twitched on the trigger in anticipation and he counted down the minutes until he would have to make what could very well be his last stand. He lightly shifted his weight to his other foot, his ears straining to hear anything. There were a few more scattered shots and Levi couldn’t help his thoughts.

Did he know any of the men out there?

Levi shook his head, wet hair whipping the side of his face and bringing him back from his dark thoughts.

A few minutes and then, silence.

Levi took a deep breath in, waiting for boots to come stomping through the forest. He took stock of his surroundings once again. Bush, boulder, trees… Did he have enough time to climb?

No. There was a crunch of leave up ahead, coming from behind a larger clump of trees. Low hanging branches and young, still thin and willowy saplings made it impossible to make out anything other than a single form staggering through. Levi adjusted his firearm. Who cares if he was wounded, this was war.

Then the figure fell through the branches and Levi didn’t have to shoot as the soldier collapsed in front of him.

Levi waited a few moments to see if anyone else was coming. At the count of 500 there was still no one else in sight. In favor of saving bullets, Levi left his hiding position to approach the human slumped on the ground. He slipped the dagger attached to his thigh from its sheath.

A red splotch on a green and black uniform told Levi that the man on the ground was bleeding from a shot in his side. Not enough to knock him out though. Levi kicked him where he’d been shot and the man groaned turning over to his back. Long brown hair covered his face and a nasty bruise that was forming on the side of his head. That explained why he passed out at least.

The man groaned again, arm moving so that the Eldian crest on his jacket was visible and suddenly Levi saw red. He thought of all his squadmates, Oulo’s rolling head, Petra’s empty eyes, and directed all the force into his arm as he swung the knife down. He wasn’t going to simply slit the man’s throat, this would hurt. For his squad.

Then the man opened his eyes, bright green blinking up at him.

A vision of the same man, younger and with shorter hair, flashed through his mind. Of windswept bangs and a determined glint that was just as deadly as any knife. Levi knew this man.

Levi’s arm stopped a hair’s breadth away from the man’s chest. His eyes were wide as he gazed into the confused green. A single name flashed through his head. His jaw fell open and he was speaking before he knew what he was doing.

“Eren,” Levi whispered.

The man- Eren’s- eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his eyes flickered down Levi’s figure. He seemed to quickly register the blade held to his chest and thrust his arms forward to shove Levi away. More in shock than anything else, Levi fell to his ass, knife held slackly in his hand.

Eren scooted back, clutching his side with one hand and grappling around for some sort of weapon with the other. He found a stick and Levi almost snorted. 

Eren carefully scanned Levi’s form before stopping at his chest, studying the symbols over the jacket's right breast pocket. Levi slowly rose to a crouching position, resheathing his knife. He held a hand out in front of him as if placating a wild animal. This man he suddenly remembered. He was important. He was important to Levi.

Green eyes finally flickered back up to Levi’s face and Levi could see him getting ready to speak.

“C-captain,” Eren said, eyes still wide and disbelieving.

The memories started to flood back to Levi. Of this man saluting to him, hero-worshipping him as his captain. He was a captain. Eren’s captain. He remembered too. Levi opened his mouth to speak but Eren beat him to it.

“You’re a Marley captain!” Eren shouted, grabbing frantically for the gun that had twisted around his form. Levi was faster to react and jumped forward, not hesitating for a moment before hitting Eren over the head again. He slumped back onto the ground and Levi sighed.

Now what was he supposed to do?

In the end, Levi decided not to move Eren too far, settling him beside the stream.

He had no idea what he was doing and if Erwin could see him now, Levi was sure he would be on the receiving end of one of his famous stares. A thick eyebrow raised just a fraction to tell him that what he was doing was questionable. Looking at the young man in front of him now, shirtless and bleeding from where a bullet had grazed him, Levi would have to agree. Why else would he decide to bandage an enemy soldier?

Yet, whenever he questioned himself, all he had to do was close his eyes to see visions of him helping the boy. Of him holding a handkerchief out as he vomited blood, of saving him from the jaws of a giant, of him cutting him from the back of a monster. His heart would tug at him and he knew. He had to help Eren.

Tearing the boy’s shirt for cloth and wetting it in the brook to clean his wound, Levi’s survival instincts reasoned with him enough to at least tie him up. He fashioned some rope out of long streams of Eren’s shirt.

This turned out to be a good idea a few hours later when Eren awoke. He was pissed. His eyes glared up at the sky and he started thrashing despite the makeshift rope binding his arms and legs together. His long hair lashed around his face crazily.

“Let me go!” Eren shouted and screamed as if someone could hear him. “Help!”

Levi jolted awake from where he’d fallen asleep, sitting against a tree, and jumped up to stand over where Eren was screeching his head off. He scowled at the wiggling man.

“Oi! Shut the fuck up and stop moving!” Levi growled, crouching next to him. “You’ll only hurt yourself.”

Eren, of course, being the absolute shit Levi remembered him to be, did not shut up. Levi found himself wishing he had also gagged him. It was never too late, and his fingers were itching to wedge the fabric between the young man's teeth but Levi distinctly remembered how hard Eren could bite. He didn't want his hands anywhere near those set of chompers. He hesitated to tear another strip of fabric off to silence him.

Luckily, it never came to that as Eren’s screaming suddenly cut off with a whimper. He bit his lip and tried to clutch at his side. His bound hands prevented him from fully reaching the source of his pain. Levi sighed and reached over. To his great displeasure, Eren tried to roll away. An irritated headache started to pitch between his eyebrows and Levi grabbed Eren’s shoulder to pin him to the ground.

“Shut up, sit still and listen.” Levi’s glare met Eren’s and for the first time in his life, someone met it full force. “You were injured and I’m helping you. Don’t make me regret it.”

“I’m a low level soldier, I know nothing. Why help me,” Eren ground out. It was more of a command than a question, but Levi decided to humor it.

“Because it felt right,” was the only answer Levi had. Eren seemed unsatisfied as he clenched his jaw and looked away with a scowl.

“You said my name back there,” Eren commented, still not looking at Levi. “How do you know it?”

“You don’t remember me," Levi stated blandly, a little disheartened. If his memories weren’t so vivid, he would believe he was actually crazy.

Eren didn’t respond and instead closed his eyes, giving one more tug at the rope binding his wrists before sighing in defeat when they didn’t loosen. He looked back over to Levi.

“So now what? What _feels right_ now?” Eren asked mockingly. “Because you’re still in Eldian territory, Mr. Marley Captain, and dragging around an unwilling captive doesn’t sound like the best plan for getting out of this alive.”

And of course Eren was right. Levi had no idea what he was going to do now. Bandaging the man was a spur of the moment decision. Levi wasn’t exactly known for his planning skills but even this level of carelessness was new to him.

He went over the checklist of tasks he would normally try to accomplish had he not decided to take on a bound and wounded enemy soldier. Food, check. He’d captured a rabbit while Eren was asleep and there were a few recognizable herbs that he could use for cooking. Water, check. They were right next to a stream after all. Putting as much distance between himself and the enemy… Levi looked down to Eren. Definitely not.

Looking into his pack, Levi noticed his medical supplies and ammo were running low as well. If Eren pulled his stitches or he got injured...

Then his mind flashed back to the shots he’d heard earlier. The squirmish. He’d only seen Eren walking away which meant there was a bloody scene of dead men not too far away. A bloody scene of dead men and their supplies.

“Eren,” Levi said, still thinking. Green eyes blinked up to him as Levi thought. Was the potential for a few more rounds of ammo and another role of bandages worth it? “You came from a battle field, right?” Eren was silent. “Was anyone else alive before you limped off?”

Eren’s jaw locked up. There was a fire in his eyes. Defiance. Levi knew when someone wasn't going to talk. With a shake of his head, he returned his attention to the bandages. Levi had cleaned and stitched it up before applying the white wrappings. The ooze of blood had all but stopped, but now red was starting to seep through. Eren’s movements must have busted a stitch.

He gently pulled back the gauze, face impassive as he examined the threads hanging from Eren's side. He was going to have to restitch the area. There go more supplies.

“You ripped open a few stitches,” Levi commented, reaching back for his bag.

“Good,” Eren replied petulantly. “Let me bleed out and die.”

Levi shook his head and removed the needle from the packaging, threading the medical string through the head. He swabbed at the wound to wipe up excess blood.

“This is going to hurt,” Levi said, giving Eren only a half a second before plunging the needle into his side. To the young man’s credit, he didn’t flinch, only hissing once with the initial stick of the needle. When he finished, Levi washed the area off once more and reapplied fresh bandaging. He was close to running out. Looking at the now significantly paler man, Levi decided they had to brave the hopefully empty battlefield.

“Look kid,” Levi started. “I know you don’t want to talk to me or give me information, but we are definitely going back to wherever you came from. It would really be in your best interest if you just told me if anyone else survived.”

Eren growled at him.

“Everyone is dead,” the young man barked. “Your people killed them all with an explosion. It even took out their own men!” Levi’s eyes widened slightly at that. They weren’t allowed to carry explosives. “You’re all monsters!”

Levi’s expression creased at that last declaration. It reminded him of himself. Of his own twisted thoughts. An anger started to build within in his chest. Eren's words, ' _monsters,'_ repeated in his head like a scratched record. Monsters, monsters, _monsters_.

Oulo's head. Petra's eyes.

 _Monsters_.

His anger was now a raging inferno threatening to burn his mind and body to a crisp.

“At least we don’t lop off soldiers’ heads and throw them at their friends.” On the surface Levi was calm. Only a single, slim eyebrow raised as though it could cut through Eren's indifferent. But his words were childish and cold only meant to anger Eren further.

“We would never do that!” Eren shouted, starting to struggle again. Levi wanted to let him continue, wanted to watch the pain that would surely follow, but that would only be a waste of supplies they didn’t have. With a snarl, Levi jumped forward and held him down instead, getting satisfaction out of the way Eren's brow clenched in pain and anger at being forced still.

“Tell that to Oulo, my comrade and squadmate for nearly half a decade,” Levi deadpanned, the rage he felt not leaving with his voice. “His head was thrown into my tent seconds before they attacked.”

“Liar!” Eren shouted. He looked pissed, eyes narrowed and nostrils flared. It was an exhilarating expression. The inferno died, Levi’s anger starting to morph into another emotion he was certain he never dared associated with the younger before. In his past life it was all gentle warmth and affection. This was different. Like his anger it was still hot, burning, rough but not truly violent.

Lust.

Levi licked his lips.

“Well we don’t carry explosives either,” he countered, face coming in close to Eren's. The man let a brief look of terror cross his face, the emotion extinguishing whatever Levi had been feeling. He pulled back with a sigh. “I hate to break it to you, brat, but this is _war_ and crazy people with demented ideas get away with horrendous shit all the time. The battle ground is a breeding ground for insanity and a playground for the disturbed.”

Eren just scowled at Levi as if he could force the words back into his mouth through sheer force of will. After a few seconds of nothing but Eren's angry stare before he spoke again.

“We fight for justice and freedom.”

Levi was taken aback, a small, condescending laugh leaving him before he could stop. The renewed ferocity in Eren's struggles told Levi his reaction had only enraged the man more.

“You’re naive, brat,” Levi said. Affection tugged at his heart because the phrase felt so familiar. “ _You_ fight for justice and freedom. Perhaps some other soldiers do too. The others however, including the people you serve under, they mostly fight for power, money and land. Nothing more.” Levi narrowed his eyes in what he’d been told is a piercing glare. “And sure, maybe sometimes a person who craves nothing but blood and violence slips through the cracks. There is nothing you can do about it.”

“But when we win,” Eren said. “There will be justice and we will be free.”

Levi looked at Eren pityingly.

“Is that what you call killing people you don’t know?” Levi asked quietly. “Justice?”

“Then what do you fight for?” Eren jutting his chin out.

“Trust me, kid. I have no illusions of grandeur nor a need for power, money or blood. I fight because I have nothing else left,” Levi said, looking away. “It’s the only thing I’m good at.”

Eren thunked his head against the ground. Levi said a small ‘oi’ because he probably had a concussion, but ultimately left it alone.

“Well yeah, you’d be a shitty medic,” Eren commented lightly. Levi’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the friendlier tone. “Those stitches are not going to heal pretty.”

“I think scars are pretty badass.” Levi jabbed at the bandages just hard enough to elicit a small shriek. More of surprise than pain. Eren huffed out a laugh and Levi let a small smile reach his lips.

“I’ll be able to show it off. If I sell it right, Jean will definitely be jealous,” Eren commented.

“I don’t know about that Jean guy, but I think I would most certainly be,” Levi said back. Then creased his eyebrows at the thought of the future, his smile falling from his face as suddenly as it had arrived. He looked up to the sky where the sun was leaning lazily to the west. It was past noon. “We should probably be headed out soon. Before it gets dark.”

“I’m tied up,” Eren commented, holding his arms up as if the older man would simply let him go. Levi just stared at him, unimpressed.

“So you are. If I let you go will you run away?” Eren bit his lip and looked away.

“No.”

That was a yes. Levi pinched the bridge of his nose.

“This is how it’s going to go,” Levi started. “I am going to untie your legs and you will _not_ run. If you do, I will not hesitate to shoot. Not to mention it won’t be hard to chase down a man with his arms tied together. Can you handle that?”

Eren nodded mutely, pursing his lips as if he was deep in thought. Probably deciding whether or not he should actually try to escape. Levi liked how he wore his heart on his sleeve. He was easy to read. Simple.

“Alright.” Levi hoisted the gun up to his side. Cocking it to be ready and gave Eren a pointed look. The young man’s minute, almost unnoticeable movements stopped and he froze, looking like a statue. Judging by his expression, the gun had helped him reach his final decision of not running. “I’m going to cut the rope now. Stay still.”

Levi once again pulled out his dagger, this time with the intention of freeing someone instead of ending someone. Eren watched the blade with nervous eyes, releasing his breath when Levi put the knife away after cutting the rope away.

Levi stood up and watched Eren scramble to his stomach to push himself up to his knees. Levi suddenly had a vision of Eren kneeling just as he was with arms secured behind him. Levi's breath hitched and he stayed quiet, watching Eren as he winced while moving to his feet. Green eyes turned to Levi.

“You’re short,” Eren commented as though confused. Levi kicked him in retribution.

“In front of me.” Levi shrugged the barrel of his gun. “You’ll have to lead me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eren griped, stumbling slightly as he moved forward. He shoved his way through the woods much more gracefully this time and it was only a few minutes until Levi found himself looking grimly out at a field of corpses.

The stench of rotting flesh hadn’t settled in yet, but the smell of burning flesh still lingered. It rose from the singed, burnt corpses in a circle of blackened grass. There had definitely been an explosion.

Next to him Eren started to gag. Levi turned to see him covering his mouth with his hands, eyes wide with tears building up and causing them to become glassy.

“I- It wasn’t this bad before,” Eren whispered, voice cracking. He bent down, hair curtaining his eyes and started to vomit.

Levi reacted instinctively and dropped his gun, allowing it to hang by the sash around his neck to hold Eren’s hair back. His other hand to rub the small of his back. He shushed the man softly as he started to sob.

“Captain,” Eren breathed out. “Oh god, why?” 

Eren was clearly in shock, his chest heaving in what Levi could recognize as a panic attack.

“Breathe, Eren,” Levi said. “Breathe.”

“Why do we do this, Levi?” Eren sobbed and Levi froze. Eren seemed to notice and look up at him, tears still streaming down his face. Levi carefully pulled away.

“I never told you my name.” Levi’s eyes narrowed as he inspected the man in front of him. His mouth opened in a small gasp, tears stopping as his mind caught up to what he just did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I have no clue what will happen at the end of the manga so whatever I am writing here is what I am guessing will happen. I am only caught up to the anime at the moment.
> 
> One more chapter left!

“It’s on your uniform,” Eren countered, voice hoarse from crying but managing to sound petulant all the same.

“No,” Levi pushed, heart pounding. “That’s my last name. ‘Ackerman.’ ‘ _ Levi _ ’ is my first name. You knew it.”

“I- I didn’t say Levi.” Eren looked away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Normally Levi would care, but his mind was too busy. Eren had said ‘Levi.’ His mouth felt full of cotton, dry and sticky. He licked his lips.

“Yes, you did.” Levi hated how his voice was rising. He was losing his calm.

“No, I said… Lord.” Eren was grasping at straws, and he knew that Levi could tell. His eyes searched the surrounding forest like an escape route would suddenly open up in front of him. “Like, a prayer to God. ‘Why do we do this, Lord. Why’s the world so cruel.’”

“No.” Levi’s tone was sharp. “That and ‘captain’. You called me Captain. Why would you call an enemy ‘Captain,’ Eren?”

There was a lump in his throat and Levi despised how desperate he sounded. It was an inexplicable desperation, searching for an answer from a man he had only met hours earlier. A man who hated him, who probably wished for his death. He was a stranger no matter what his brain or new flashback-like days dreams tried to convince him of.

Could he just want confirmation of the strange new visions? Was his sanity that important to him? No, Levi thought back to blood on his hands. It had never been before. This was more. He wanted a past with this man. He  _ needed _ it.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Eren turned away from him and Levi could see his muscles tensing to move. He reacted instinctively and grabbed the taller’s arm just as he made a break for it.

“Eren!” Levi barked, he yanked him around. His leg swept underneath the younger’s unsteady ones and suddenly they were tumbling to the ground in a heap. Levi pushed with one leg so that he was straddling a still shirtless Eren. Without any fabric to grab, Levi settled for the younger’s chin, forcing him to look up into his grey-blue eyes. Eren gasped, eyes a little unfocused. There was a touch of guilt as he thought about the large bruise still on his forehead and his possible brain damage. The train of thought was soon interrupted by a vision.

A lightning bolt flashed through Levi and he saw Eren kneeling back in what he now recognized as a courtroom. He was young. Much younger than he was now. His hands were tied behind his back and he was nearly motionless. Still, he was shouting, pulling at his bonds. Some strange fondness filled Levi’s chest as he saw him fight against burning iron. Frightened chatter came from all around him. Background noise. Young Eren made one massive pull, looking up to the sky with his loudest scream yet and suddenly Levi was jumping over a railing.

His foot went flying and suddenly he was beating him, the kid’s face swollen and shocked. Soon his short hair was fisted in Levi’s grasp. Unfocused green eyes were roaming his face while Levi spoke. Levi made a promise to him and every other human in the room that, should the time come, he would not hesitate in cutting him down.

The present flooded Levi’s senses again. From the left came the sharp acidic scent of vomit, the Earthy undertones of the surrounding forest keeping it from being unbearable. From the right came the stench of burning meat, unlike any animal flesh he’d roasted before. Underneath him, Eren was completely still. Limp. He was gnawing slightly on his bottom lip, his eyes casting nervous glances to the side of the forest not filled with the bodies of his comrades.

The words were out of Levi’s mouth before he could stop them.

“Eren Jaeger, I am your captain and I will not tolerate insubordination. Now talk.” Eren’s eyes shifted to Levi’s face and they widened ever so slightly. 

“Now,” Levi added for extra emphasis. Eren’s eyes closed briefly to give him a reprise from the moment.

“What would it matter if I knew your name?” Eren finally asked, struggling to speak against Levi’s hand. He didn’t let go. 

“It would matter because I care,” Levi said, the steady cadence of his voice startling him. His voice calm, it seemed like the opportune time to continue. “Ever since you opened your eyes, I’ve been seeing you. Not the you now but a younger you. While I’m awake and my eyes are open. They’re flashbacks, Eren. What are they flashbacks too?”

“I- They’re-” Eren stumbled over his words. A thin shade of red dusted his cheeks. “I don’t know. I mean, I get them too, but from before I met you.” His teeth clenched hard. “It’s like another life.”

“Another life?” Levi’s grip on Eren’s jaw loosened as he mulled over the words. “Like a past life or something?”

“How should I know?” Eren asked, spitting, and tried to flip them over, his abs flexing under Levi’s thighs. When it wasn’t enough to buck Levi off within the first 5 seconds, he gave up with a whimper, the pain in his side apparently too bad to continue with his escape attempt. It reminded Levi of the physical situation at hand.

Levi flushed, suddenly realizing just how warm Eren’s shirtless body was underneath him and how his whimper sounded a little more debauched than a normal human’s. And he really did not hate it. 

He cleared his throat and let go of Eren’s jaw and  _ damn _ their position was most certainly not innocent. Levi lessened his weight and moved back onto Eren’s legs. Still not letting him get up but giving him more space to distance himself from the indecent thoughts. It was a miracle Eren’s bandages weren’t red and bloody already.

“Why wouldn’t you tell me?” Levi asked, cringing at how pathetic it sounded, but it was the only innocent thought floating around Levi’s head.

“Because even if the visions and the…  _ emotions _ were from a past life and real.” Eren sighed out the last word and paused for a moment. “Even if it was all real we’re here now. We’re soldiers. For opposing armies.”

Levi narrowed his eyes at how much sense it made. It wasn’t right. Uncertainty buzzed in the back of his head. He could see himself thinking like this, but not the Eren of his visions.

“You were never this logical,” Levi accused and Eren turned red.

“I’m still not,” Eren mumbled. His voice went back to his normal speaking tone. “It was Mikasa, one of my closest childhood friends. I started to get the visions when I first joined the army.” Levi’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Some soldiers were, uh, talking about Marley soldiers with a reputation and your name popped up. ‘Levi Ackerman, the devil Marley soldier as strong as a whole squad himself.’” Eren’s face had turned the color of a ripe tomato and he looked away. “I started getting visions and wanted to go find you. But when I spoke to Mikasa she reasoned with me. She is very persuasive. I- I was never going to tell you.”

Levi took a moment to soak in Eren’s words, staring down with what was probably a dumbfounded expression.

“You’re terrible at keeping secrets,” Levi commented. It wasn’t what he truly wanted to say. He wanted to keep asking questions, ask him why he wanted to find him. Why would anyone want to find  _ Levi _ ? Instead he opted to a more lighthearted comment and let his questions go for the moment. There were more important things to deal with at the moment. Like the field of corpses and their possible medical supplies.

Levi climbed off of Eren, leaving the younger motionless on the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Eren apologized, closing his eyes as though he were going to sleep. His voice was sarcastic. “I should have tried harder.”

Levi tried not to let the thought that the only reason Eren had told him was by mistake hurt him.

“We should move,” Levi commented, glancing around with a squint. The forest around them was calm. For now. “It’s a miracle no one else has arrived here yet.”

“I’m not moving.” Eren didn’t even open his eyes.

“Makes it easier for me.” Levi shrugged and walked out into the death-stained clearing, keeping an eye out for any intact satchels. True to his word, Eren hadn’t moved every time Levi looked over.

In the end, Levi only found two packs with salvageable supplies. Not a whole lot, but enough to keep Eren’s wound clean and have some on standby just in case. While leaving, Levi found himself having to kick Eren up off the ground. With a bit of grumbling, he clambered up and walked obediently beside Levi back to the stream.

That night the moon hung heavy and low in the sky, the fullness reflecting a welcoming scatter of light through the treetops. It allowed Levi to see Eren sitting across from him. His arms were bundled tightly against his still bare chest, the ropes keeping him from hugging himself. His legs were bound together again so Eren would only really pull them up to curl into a ball.

“Remind me why we can’t just build a fire?” Eren shivered, relieved when Levi passed his uniform jacket to him. He didn’t seem at all disturbed by the opposing army’s symbol on it. Then again, he may have just not noticed it.

“Too visible,” Levi commented, cleaning his gun meticulously. He hadn’t shot it in a few days, but liked keeping it in good shape. New ammo found on his comrades' remains helped ease the tight panic that had kept growing the longer he went without seeing or hearing anyone. “The moonlight is wonderful for vision. A blessing and a curse. The smoke from a fire could alert someone, especially since we haven’t moved that far from your battle ground.” Levi felt the need to tease. “Pretty basic stuff, are you sure the Eldian army taught you anything?”

Green eyes seemed to flash at Levi.

“We were taught it, I just… forgot.” 

“I’m sure you did, kid.” Levi allowed himself to chuckle as he pulled the cleaning cloth through his barrel. A silence filled the air around them, the only noise coming from the rustling of small animals and the babble of the stream next to them. “How long ago did you join?”

Eren replied surprisingly easily. Obviously this wasn’t as touchy of a subject as their ‘memories’ were.

“I started basic training about three years ago. I joined right when I turned 16 with my two closest friends, Armin and Mikasa.” A fond smile started to overtake Eren’s face and he looked up to the sky. “We grew up together. They said they couldn’t let me join alone. That I would get myself killed sooner rather than later.”

“I can see what they mean, you don’t seem to have any real survival instincts.” Eren frowned but didn’t look at Levi. In the quiet that followed he softly added. “Didn’t seem to have any survival instincts back then either.”

There was a stillness that seemed to grow between them at the mention of their shared visions of some past. Levi had managed to go an impressive five-ish hours without mentioning it. The need to say something had been building inside him and now that he had, the space between them seemed to grow. It was threatening to envelop and choke Levi. He had to backtrack.

“Were Armin and Mikasa in your squad?” Levi asked and immediately regretted it, cursing himself internally. He had just asked if Eren’s closest friends were members of his squad. The one that had been massacred. Thankfully, it didn’t strike a chord with Eren as the young man responded to him.

“No, they’re better than me. Special.” A wry smirk crossed Eren’s face as he struggled between jealousy and pride. “Armin is a tactical genius and Mikasa is perhaps the most gifted fighter in our ranks. They got raised above the ranks of normal foot soldiers within the first three months of finishing training.”

“You’re pretty special,” Levi commented. He couldn’t help himself. He had foot in mouth disease. Plus, the Eren he’d seen visions always filled him with a warm emotion. His eyes were constantly brimming with an eagerness, a resolve to succeed. All of that was special. At least to him.

Eren finally looked back from the stars to Levi, a mildly agitated look on his face. Levi loved the way those green eyes tried to scorch him.

“You don’t know me,” the young man whispered just loud enough to let Levi hear him. “Even if those visions were real, the Eren in them isn’t me now.”

“That’s what conversation is for, isn’t it?” Levi narrowed his eyes and started to clean the action on his gun. “You know, talking, getting to know each other.” Eren looked away again and  _ fuck _ what would Levi have to do to get those eyes to keep looking at him. 

“And who are you to say you’re any different,” Levi accused. “I don’t see myself in those visions so I know you don’t see yourself. But let me tell you. Eren, I don’t see anything different.”

Eren sniffed, looking crossly at the tree next to Levi’s head.

“I can feel myself,” Eren shot back. “I’ve changed and you aren’t in any position to tell me otherwise! You’ve known me for less than a day.” Eren raised his voice and Levi threw a pebble at his chest to shut him up.

“Oh please. It doesn’t take a genius to see you’re still a pig-headed, passionate, suicidal little brat and yeah, maybe I have only known you for a day, but it feels like so much longer. In my gut I can feel it, it’s like I’ve known you for years. What do you want me to do?” Levi was pissed and he didn’t know why. “I know the shape of your face when you laugh. The way your eyes squint a little too much and the left side of your mouth lifts a little further up than the right. I know you are emotional and rash. I can recognize the glint in your eyes when you get an idea that you won’t let go of.” Eren’s eyebrows knitted together. “Enough to know you have it now telling me that I don’t know you. And since I know I won’t be able to convince you that I do, talk.”

“I- You can’t know those things.” Eren sounded distraught and he brought his arms up to pull at his hair slightly. Levi’s jacket fell off his shoulders.

“Why not?” Levi demanded, disassembled gun forgotten on the ground between them. Not at all to Levi’s surprise, Eren started crying.

“Because then everything I know and feel is true,” Eren said softly. Levi waited for him to elaborate but he never did. He turned back to his gun, getting to work on lubricating the action.

“My mother was a prostitute,” Levi eventually said and that seemed to shock Eren out of crying.

“What?” Eren asked, voice a little strained.

“My mother was a prostitute,” Levi repeated. “She worked in the slums and died when I was 8. I never knew my father so my uncle brought me up. He raised me to be a fighter.” Eren was blinking at Levi, but he powered through to give a barebone summary of his past. “And, obviously, I was a damn good one. I used it to steal. Now don’t get me wrong, I still argue it’s better than killing like this, but  _ stealing _ is the illegal one of the two and I got caught. By the commander of the border troops, Erwin, actually. They offered me either 15 years jail time or military service and that’s how I ended up here.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Eren finally asked. Levi started to reassemble his gun, not sparing a glance to the young man.

“I thought we were getting to know each other.”

There were a few minutes of hesitation where Eren must have been deciding whether or not to talk before he finally made a noise. Levi finally looked up to him, dragging a cloth around the outside of his gun to finish up his cleaning regimen.

“My mother was killed in a military raid,” Eren said. “They said it was an accidental civilian casualty but… I can’t let it go.” He chuckled darkly. “And neither could my father. He became a raging drunk, always ranting about ‘those damn Marley’ and I guess that’s why I enlisted.” The volume of Eren’s voice lowered. “I figured that if it wasn’t for your people my mom would still be alive and my dad sane.”

“Revenge,” Levi acknowledged, nodding once in recognition. Eren looked surprised, but the tear tracks on his cheeks were finally starting to dry. 

“It’s as good a reason as any,” Levi continued, unexpectedly calm. “At least it was your choice. Not many get a choice in a war like this. I may have chosen this thinking it was the lesser of two evils, but some are forced into it.”

“Forced?” Eren looked at Levi owlishly.

“Yes, through the draft,” Levi explained, remembering that Eldia doesn’t have one. “Able bodied women and men get drafted and have to serve in the military at times of war.”

“That’s disgusting,” Eren whispered vehemently. “Why would you force anyone to fight. To possibly die-”

“It gets soldiers.” Levi cut Eren off. “And forges a common bond between citizens. Links us together through military might.”

Eren’s face scrunched up in thought and ended up shrugging.

“Still sounds like bullshit to me.”

“Yeah, I knew it would,” Levi said fondly. “Stubborn brat.”

Eren looked like he was going to take offense to the nickname, or perhaps rag on Levi for saying he knew him again. Instead he found himself cut off by a giant yawn. Instinctively, Levi pushed himself up and paced over to Eren. He grabbed his jacket to lay it on the young man again.

“You should sleep,” Levi said, securing the jacket around the taller man’s form. He had the strongest urge to touch him and let his hands linger a little longer than necessary, hoping Eren wouldn’t notice. “We’re going to have a long day tomorrow. We both need our rest.”

“I bet you sleep with one eye open,” Eren mumbled and Levi couldn’t stop himself from patting him on the head before turning around to the tree with his pack laying against it. He shut his eyes lightly, dozing off as he debated with himself over whether or not that was a blush he saw on Eren’s cheeks.

Levi still doesn’t have a plan on what to do with Eren, so the next day he decides to stick to his original strategy to make it to the mountains and his base. His pace is slowed dramatically by the addition of the wounded and bound young man, but he was determined to take with him despite how annoyingly contrary he was.

As Levi and Eren walked, they barely spoke a word to one another. Silence was fine with Levi. In fact, he preferred it. But this silence was thick with tension and with every hour that passed, a small part of Levi sunk into it until his whole body was on edge. Moreso than those first days on the run.

From the tension in Eren’s shoulders as he trudged along beside Levi, he felt it too.

Still, they plodded on. Quiet as the sleeping forest.

When the sun had traveled more than halfway across the sky, Levi had a vision. A terrible one. Eren stood in front of him, as old as he was now, laughing with pain-filled eyes. He was missing both arms, steam rising from the stumps of his limbs, but Levi knew that wasn’t the source of his misery. Tears made wet tracks down his face and Eren whispered.

“I’m sorry.”

A mixture of fury, betrayal, sorrow and heartbreak kicked him in the chest just as Levi had kicked Eren in the face. Back in the forest, Levi gasped and clutched at his chest, the emotions overwhelming him.

He closed his eyes to block out the horrible scene and by proxy, the emotions. But instead he got to watch as he plunged his sword into Eren, ripping the young man’s chest open. Blood splattered onto his arm and his sword was drenched. The Eren of his dream looked content, a stubby arm reaching up to him. Levi dropped his sword and cradled Eren’s body to him, hiding his face in wild and long brown hair as Eren’s breathing stuttered to a stop. Levi’s own breathing stopped with it in horror.

“Levi.” A voice penetrated through his brain, sounding disconnected and muffled like he was underwater. “Levi!”

Levi’s eyes flashed open, wildly looking about him and seeing Eren kneeling in front of him. Concern carved his features and for a moment, all Levi could think was that it was beautiful. Beautiful that this young man was concerned for him.

“You’re crying,” Eren said, bringing his tied together hands up so that one could wipe away a tear. Eren’s mouth parted and he licked along his bottom lip. Levi swallowed hard, looking into the windows between the trees, wide and empty. Levi looked back at Eren, disconcerted.

“You didn’t run away.”

Eren pursed his lips and straightened himself, not saying another word. The silence continued into the next day, not a word spoken even as Levi redressed Eren’s wound.

A day later, Levi had finished pouring out a small cup of water for both of them when he noticed that Eren refused to look at him while they ate. His green eyes were trained rather determinedly at a rock on the ground as if he were willing it to crack in half.

“You constipated?” Levi asked, startling Eren to look up at him. There was surprise and slight amusement written across his face as he made eye contact with Levi before reflexively glancing down. His eyes widened as they focused on the hand holding Levi’s cup. His jaw dropped and he looked like he’s going to be sick.

“No,” Eren whispered to himself and Levi was more than a little confused. He started shaking his head erratically, long hair lashing around him and creating a barrier to his face. “No no no no.”

Both hands lifted to point at Levi accusingly.

“No! Stop that!” He shouted and Levi readied to launch himself at Eren to shush him. But Eren quieted down quickly, looking at Levi through a curtain of hair. There’s a rasping, broken quality to his voice. “Why do you have to do that?”

Levi looked down to his hand where he held his water. His long fingers were delicately grasping the lip of the plain, army-issued cup.

“I know it’s a little weird, but it’s not like it’s terrible,” Levi commented, bringing the cup up to sip out of it again.

Eren lunged forward, hands swinging like a pendulum to knock the cup out of his hands. Levi just barely dodged without sloshing the water onto the ground.

“Hey!” He barked in a harsh whisper to avoid actually raising his voice. “Don’t waste our water, you idiot.”

Eren looked up and Levi could see the tears welling in his eyes and threatening to spill over.

“Fuck, I didn’t want it to be you,” Eren whispered. His shoulders hunched and he slumped forward, head hanging limply over his knees. “I can’t handle it if it’s you, Levi.”

Levi was absolutely baffled at the now broken quality of Eren’s voice and body. He had done a complete 180 at whiplash speed. From angry to fractured and falling apart. It was like a dam had broken in his mind.

“What do you mea-”

“You’ve always held your cups like that,” Eren said blandly, still looking like a rag doll only held up by a single string connected to his spine. “In my visions. Fuck,” Eren swore, head shaking. “And the shit jokes. Fuck you, Levi. You’re the exact same person.” Levi saw a tear splatter onto the rock Eren was staring at before. He started begging. “It hurts, Levi. It hurts. Please make it stop.” Another string appeared to raise Eren’s head. The brilliant green of his eyes were burning, but not in anger. “I can’t deal with the heartache again.”

Levi blinked once. Twice.

“What-”

Eren pounced on top of Levi, using his lips to smother the short man’s complaints. A squeaky noise of surprise erupted from Levi’s throat and he flushed. The surprise wore off and his heart pounded in his ears as his arms instinctively went to grab Eren. The small swish leaf-heavy branches and murmuring buzz of insects all faded away the instant his palm touched Eren’s skin. The only thing left was Eren and his kiss, all of it threatening to swallow Levi whole.

It was uncomfortable. 

Their noses bumped and teeth clacked together. Between them, Eren’s hands were squished and digging into both their bodies. There was a slight burn in Levi’s abs as they strained to keep him up since he had no desire to either lay on the ground or let go of Eren. The cup of water he had been holding had spilled down the front of his shirt, making the fabric stick to his skin.

It was the most awkward kiss he’d ever had. Clumsy, painful and wet.

Yet it was amazing. So, so amazing.

Levi dropped the empty cup and tightened his arms around Eren’s back. He finally responded to the kiss by licking Eren’s lower lip, delighting in the roughness of the chapped skin. He groaned low and sucked on it, as though he could pull the skin back to being smooth. Eren gasped as he did and opened his mouth for Levi to explore. Their tongues tangled together in what should not have been a pleasant way, but it only made Levi want more.

The kiss wasn’t familiar in the way the determination in Eren’s eyes had been. It was clear to him that they had never done this before. But there’s a longing in the pit of Levi’s stomach that felt as though that they  _ should _ have done it. That this kiss had been building up for years. 

No kiss had ever felt this good before and he knew that no kiss would ever be as satisfying again.

Levi pulled back a little, ignoring the whimper of Eren’s protest, and tugged Eren’s arms up.

“Over my head,” Levi demanded and Eren was quick to comply. Their bodies slotted together like two puzzle pieces and Levi felt the stitching that never failed to hold him together after all this time start to snap. Eren’s arms were all that was left to keep him intact. That thought in mind, Levi finally let himself collapse onto the ground.

His mind is buzzing as Eren overrode all his senses and drowned the rest of the world out. All that was left is Eren. Eren’s lips, Eren’s tongue, Eren’s warm, eager body and Eren’s sweet, needy noises. He yearned for it all, lived for it all. Each pant and moan from the other man is like a gentle caress stoking the fire within him. He doesn’t even notice his own hips bucking against Eren’s, wild and erratic.

It’s a whirlwind of emotions and they kiss like that for a while, Levi grasping at the other man’s bare back as though he was drowning and Eren was air. From this point on, Levi knew he wouldn’t be able to survive without the young man in his arms.

After minutes or hours, neither can tell, Eren finally lifted himself up and away from Levi. His eyelids looked heavy as they blinked lazily down at Levi, his lips swollen red and moist. Brown hair fell gracefully from the top of his head to frame the mesmerizing image and it’s the most stunning thing Levi’s ever witnessed. He reached up to pull the young man back to him and cradled Eren’s head to his chest. They were both breathing heavily and for once, the lack of conversation between them felt light and tranquil.

Eren’s the first to speak.

“You killed me,” he said softly, his hands busy trailing lazy patterns on the back of Levi’s neck, but his back was rigid as though he were afraid.

“I know,” Levi replied simply and Eren head jerked up so that he could look at him in bewilderment.

“Do you- do you remember why?” Eren asked hesitantly. Levi shook his head.

“Not exactly. But I remember feeling anger, betrayal… heartbreak.” Eren inhaled sharply at that and paused to gather his thoughts.

“Then why haven’t you killed me yet?” He finally asked. Levi started to card his hands through the long brown hair.

“Because it hurt,” Levi admitted. “It hurt more to kill you and watch you die than it did to know you betrayed me.”

Eren looked back down meekly before nodding in acceptance. It’s over just like that and Levi is almost surprised before he remembered the overwhelming surge of emotions Eren had just gone through. He continued with his hands, tracing a spiral into the back of Levi’s undercut. He nuzzled into Levi’s shoulder affectionately and a pressure pushed at the brims of Levi’s chest.

“We should have done this in our last life,” Eren huffed and Levi arched an eyebrow.

“You were just a kid.” 

“I’m not anymore.” Levi flicked his forehead and Eren had the guts to stick his tongue out at him.

“You’re still a brat.”

Eren laughed, the rumble comforting Levi. There was a few more minutes of peace before Eren asked the question Levi had been dreading.

“So what now then?” He was looking up at Levi with big, innocently questioning eyes. Levi’s heart stuttered, and he knew exactly what he wanted.

“I want to take you home,” Levi breathed, unable to stop himself. He leaned down and buried his head in Eren’s hair.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> There are a lot of things in this chapter I am unsure about, but all together, I'm proud of ending the story this way. I'm thinking of adding a short epilogue, but for now this is it.

“What!” Eren yelped. He rolled off Levi, his arms catching the back of Levi’s head, causing it to bounce on the ground.

Levi rubbed the injured area and sat up, resting on one elbow.

“What the hell,” Levi complained and Eren scrambled to his feet, backing up from where he was just laying with Levi. He looked panicked and Levi squinted at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Eren chanted, now pacing back and forth in a small circle. Levi pushed himself up to his feet. Eren took no notice and kept freaking out, his pacing practically digging a hole into the forest floor.

“Eren,” Levi called to try to get his attention. Eren kept pacing.

Frowning, Levi walked over in front of Eren, grabbing his face between his hands to simultaneously stop him and force him to look back at Levi.

“What’s wrong, kid?” Levi asked, searching the wide-eyed expression on the younger man’s face. Eren surged forward to give him a peck on the lips before swatting his arms away and turning around.

“Fuck,” Eren whispered again. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I got that by now,” Levi drawled sarcastically, a hint of amusement found its way into his voice. Eren reeled, fuming.

“We just kissed,” Eren said accusingly. The expression on his face was almost a pout and Levi found it adorable.

“Yes, we did.” Maybe he should be acting a little more seriously, but he still felt like he was drifting on a cloud. A soft smile slowly etched itself onto Levi’s face.

“And now you want to take me home?” Eren asked, his voice squeaking at the end.

“Yes,” Levi confirmed, closing the distance between them until they were only a hair’s breadth apart. Levi caught the way Eren solely devoted his attention downwards his lips, almost unwillingly. A blush flamed on Levi’s cheeks as he said the next part. “I would _also_ like to do that whole kiss thing again. And more.”

Eren paused and Levi delighted in the bright rosy color he was turning as no doubt indecent thought pervaded his consciousness like they were starting to for Levi. Eren coughed a little into his hand and shook his head as if he could physically remove the intrusive ideas.

“Problem?” Levi enjoyed teasing way too much. Eren stepped back, his face dropping. He looked torn between an exasperation and horrified, sad expression.

“Were you not listening to me earlier?” Eren asked. His arms swung around crazily in a small arc. The way they were tied didn’t give him a large range of motion. Levi didn’t like seeing Eren restricted and angry, it brought up the memory of Levi beating the kid as he knelt there helpless, tied to a pole.

“Look,” Levi sighed. “Before we talk about this, can I take that off?”

Levi looked pointedly at the shirt-made rope between Eren’s wrists. The moment he asked it, he realized there was a lot more attached to his question than he originally intended. His own breathing stopped as the gravity of what he just said hit him.

The question hung, heavy in the air.

Levi knew there was a whole lot more to this than Eren’s personal feelings, and was sure Eren did too. Undoing the rope that trapped Eren’s wrists - trapped Eren, was a matter of trust. In asking the question Levi was putting his trust in Eren to not run. To not break his heart. In an instant, Eren could run and trample on any bond forged both from their past lives and the last few days. 

And if he did, Levi was as good as dead for more than one reason.

Eren’s face went blank and he looked Levi dead in the eye, bearing into him, and in the faintest of movements, bobbed his head up and down. Levi would have to be blind to miss the war waging within the green depths. He gulped as Eren held his hands out in front of him, pulling the short rope taunt. Unsheathing his dagger, Levi wedged the tip under one of the loops around Levi’s tanned skin. The flat of the blade lay against the inside where Levi knew Eren’s radial artery beat out the young man’s pulse.

Right before he could cut, Eren leaned in and whispered into Levi’s ear.

“I’m not going to leave.”

Levi gasped and the rope fell free from Eren’s wrist. The young man was smirking and he held up the severed end to give Levi space to cut the other side away. Levi did it swiftly, stepping back to examine Eren. He just stood there and rubbed his wrists where they were red, tall and tan and _completely stationary_.

“So, talking?” Eren asked, swinging his arms around next to him as if getting used to the feeling of them moving asynchronously.

“I- yes. Let’s talk.” Levi wet his lips, not able to truly form real sentences. He hoped his astonishment didn’t show on his face. 

“Good because what we just did, the kiss.” Levi loved how the word sounded a little breathless when Eren said it. “It was great. Fantastic. I- I even want to do it again. But Levi, this thing between us can’t work.” Eren looked pained, like he was fighting himself. And fuck it, there was that determination again. Levi felt himself start to break. Maybe Eren hadn’t actually liked Levi in his past life and the kiss was just- just a reflex? A reaction to the reassurance that _he_ wasn’t crazy just as Levi had been looking for?

“So then,” Levi started, swallowing the hurt. “You don’t want to be with me?”

“No!” Eren’s eyes went wide and Levi knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. “No, that’s not it. I loved- love you,” Levi’s heart faltered, soaring in hope at those small few words. Then what was the problem? “But, we are _enemies_. We should be killing one another.”

“So?” Levi asked, pain replaced with confusion.

“So?” Eren asked sarcastically, looking frustrated. He started to pace, his hands clenched and unclenched. His arms moved animatedly as he spoke. There was a tingling feeling in the back of Levi’s head that told him that he’d always loved that. “What do you mean ‘so’?”

“So what if we’re supposed to be killing one another. I didn’t. You didn’t,” Levi tried to explain, floundering in his position in the conversation. In all the time Levi had known him, it was Eren trying to do the convincing. Levi always left his part of the conversation open, giving him a choice.

He couldn’t let his feelings be a mere suggestion, but this was like talking to a wall. Levi had to find the right words to break it and he was never good with words. He had never found the right ones in his other life, at least not the ones to stop Eren from turning, and he had mere minutes to find them not. He could not let Eren go again.

Eren growled.

“You can’t just waltz into your base with an enemy soldier by your side and just expect them to let you take me _home_ ,” Eren hissed. “And, surprise surprise, I can’t either.” His arms had flown out from his body and fingers splayed out. It was inviting and Levi took the opportunity to grab both of them, intertwining their fingers. Eren didn’t pull away or resist.

Words not truly thought out spilled out of Levi’s mouth.

“Then we run away,” Levi stated calmly, looking straight into Eren’s eyes as they widened comically large.

“I- what? We can’t just desert-” Eren tugged frantically on Levi’s hands, his fingers still grasping onto Levi’s as he did so. His eyes were a bordering wild.

“Yes, we can,” Levi said confidently, mind racing to support his claim. “Both our squads were annihilated. They’re all dead. We would be categorized as either missing in action or dead simply by association. I even know someone who can make us whole new identities.”

Eren looked to be considering it.

“But my friends,” Eren argued, albeit weakly. A spark of hope.

“They’ll be fine. You told me, they’re special.” Levi pulled a hand free to stroke Eren’s hair, delighting in the way Eren leaned into it. “We can find them once the war is over. I promise.”

“I-” Eren cut himself off. His walls were starting to crack, fracture in just the right places. Just one more well-placed blow and Levi could keep him.

“I love you,” Levi whispered, eyes soft as they tried to convey every emotion that had built up over their lifetimes. “Since the day I met you in our past lives you have been my everything, even if I didn’t remember it until I met you in this forest. Even if we never had or thought of anything romantically in our past lives. Maybe it's the adrenaline of war or seeing you new, now, but I love you. So please, come with me because I _need_ you, Eren. In this wasteland where nothing pleasant ever comes to soldiers like us, let’s make our love the one good thing that comes out of it.”

Intimacy was foreign to Levi. A fast paced childhood in a dog-eat-dog world left him with no time to build romantic connections. He had never even thought of saying such sickeningly sappy words, would have scoffed at the idea. Then came Eren and here he was with saccharine words falling off his tongue. 

But fuck if they weren’t true.

He couldn’t even find it in himself to feel embarrassed as he finally saw Eren’s resolve crumble under his words. His gorgeous eyes welled up for the second time and Levi ran his thumb under one, across a dry cheekbone as if to wipe away an unfallen tear.

“Will you run away with me?” Levi asked, pulse deafening. He could barely hear the next words spoken and looked down to Eren’s lips as if he could read them.

Except Eren’s lips hadn’t moved yet.

There were other people here. 

Levi’s mind flooded with fear and he scanned his surroundings, his grip on Eren’s face slackening with distraction.

They were close to the border. Were they Eldian or Marlian? Would it even matter?

Levi glanced at the tall, now confused-looking, young man.

No, it didn’t matter. Eren hadn’t answered but if there was even the slightest possibility that he would run away with him, it didn’t matter. 

Levi’s body went rigid. He put a finger to his lips in a motion to silence Eren. Eren mouthed out ‘what’ and Levi motioned off into the distance. Eren seemed to perk up when a loud laugh came crashing through the trees. Understanding dawned in his eyes. Still looking for a place to hide, Levi noticed a pine tree with some low hanging branches, maybe 5 feet above the ground, behind him. Could they… ?

“Go climb,” Levi whispered and pointed to the tree. Eren was quick to obey.

Turning around, Levi rushed to pick up makeshift campsite, shoving everything into his pack before throwing it over his shoulder. He grabbed his gun and mentally went through a checklist to cover his tracks. Pick up rope. Check. Cover prints. Check…. 

Levi sprinted to the tree. Eren was struggling to pull himself up, wincing from the pain in his side. Wasting no time, Levi dropped down to pick Eren up from his legs, allowing him to get up onto the first branch and scamper higher. Levi deftly swung himself up into the tree and followed Eren. They made it up to the thin branches near the top and the tree top wobbled a little.

There were a few seconds of rest before a pair of Eldian soldiers marched forward. Enemies. They were loud, joking amongst themselves with playful shoving. If they were his soldiers, Levi would have been pissed at their noisy antics, but in this case he just glad. Their racket was the only reason Levi had been quick enough to escape. Eren tensed at the sight of the two and for a moment, Levi doubted the progress he had made with him. Would seeing two of his comrades be enough for him to doubt Levi again? To doubt whatever chance they might have together?

Levi was nervous for a whole new reason now.

That is, until one of the enemy soldiers, a short man with hair so closely buzzed he looked bald, stopped. Instincts kicked in.

Levi’s breathing went shallow and his eyes zoned in on the scene below him. Quiet as a panther stalking his prey, Levi adjusted his gun so that it pointed to the two enemies in preparation. What had they seen? Eren took a quick breath in through his nose beside him.

Next to him, the other enemy, a man with two-toned hair, also stopped.

“Do you see that?” Baldy pointed to the ground. It was a wet spot. Caused when Eren had knocked Levi to the ground. Fuck. Levi had forgotten about it in his rush to clean up. “What do you reckon that’s from?”

He knelt to the ground as if to sniff it. Levi cocked his gun.

A gentle hand placed itself over Levi’s.

Levi looked over to where Eren was perched in the tree. He was shaking his head. There was a panicked look outlined by the slight parting of his lips and the way his eyebrows pulled up and together.

‘I know them,’ Eren mouthed, eyes flickering nervously between Levi, the gun, and the two men on the ground.

Levi’s mouth pulled into a line. He stared at Eren, a silent conversation passing between them through the smallest twitches of their faces as though they had known each other forever. Eren didn’t want these two dead.

‘Please,’ Eren mouthed to punctuate the silent argument his expressions had just made. He was pleading with those big eyes Levi could never resist. He pulled the muzzle up from the two boys into the sky.

Looked like Levi was going to die here.

“Ew, that’s probably animal piss or something,” the two-toned said, face twisting up. “Don’t smell it, Connie.”

Connie shot back up from the ground, falling on his ass. Two-toned laughed hysterically, using his boot to try to kick the mud at Connie, causing the short man to roll over.

“Jean you’re an asshole,” Connie huffed, getting up and dusting himself off. “Let’s just get this perimeter check over with and go back.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jean said, still laughing. He slapped Connie on the back. “Don’t be a baby.”

“Fuck you, Jean.” Connie flipped him off and stormed away. Jean followed and Levi’s breathing returned to normal, watching the two men leave. His chest inflated with air again.

A pair of lips pressed a kiss against his cheek. Levi’s mind went blank and he allowed himself to revel in the lingering sensation of Eren before turning to the boy in question. Levi responded by leaning forward and kissing him again. A breath of air escaped Eren’s mouth in a relaxed sigh and, not moving back from the kiss, he whispered against Levi’s lips.

“Yes, I’ll run away with you.”

As dusk began to darken the sky, Levi and Eren were still up in the tree. They’d long since become comfortable, moving a few branches down to settle themselves amongst sturdier branches. Levi’s dipped slightly below Eren’s and the younger man had taken full advantage. For the past half hour Eren took to carding a hand through Levi’s hair, breaking occasionally to scritch at the scruff of his undercut.

Levi would like to say that he hated it and that the only reason he hadn’t knocked Eren’s ass out of the tree is the gun he apparently needed to hold with both hands to hold onto. His closed eyes, contented smile and small hums betrayed him. Everytime the little pleased sound left his lips Eren would let out a puff of air like he was laughing.

Levi loved it.

“You’re like a cat,” Eren commented casually, keeping his voice low. He twirled a small clump of Levi’s hair that fell down around his face. Levi snorted.

“No.”

“Come on, it makes total sense. You’re all prickly at first.” Eren gave a small tug at the strands. Levi pulled his head away and scowled lightly. “But then you’re sweet like this and let me pet you.”

“Oh shut up brat,” Levi said, learning that he could in fact hold onto his gun with only one hand if it was to flick Eren’s forehead.

Eren laughed and Levi wondered at the complete transformation that had overcome the man. He almost couldn’t believe it. But all he had to do was close his eyes and open his mind, allowing faint memories to brush across his mind and paint a picture of the Eren he begrudgingly loved in his past life. The Eren that still shone through in the young man next to him.

“Where are we going to run away to,” Eren asked, hand back to playing with Levi’s hair.

“Somewhere far away,” was the only answer Levi could think of. “Do you have anywhere in mind?”

“The ocean.” Levi looked up to see Eren looking out into the horizon with certainty. Levi loved the way his eyes glistened even in the lowered light. “I’ve never seen it before, but I know it’s where we should go. I feel it in my bones.”

“The ocean it is,” Levi easily acquiesced. An image of young Eren looking out at sparkling blue waters filled his vision. Somehow, Levi knew that this was both his and Eren’s first time seeing the ocean. Only Levi couldn’t focus on the crystalline sea, the raging waves in Eren’s eyes were always the more beautiful anyways. All he could see was the emptiness in Eren’s expression. Levi made a silent vow that he would make his next visit to the ocean spectacular.

“Another country?” Levi asked, thinking of where they could escape. He would suggest Marley backcountry, but it didn’t feel right. They needed somewhere neutral.

“Definitely,” Eren agreed and sighed, looking between the dark sky and the forest floor. “I think we’re good to go. Jean and Connie should have already made it back to camp. We’re supposed to finish our perimeter searches before it gets too dark out.”

“Alright, then I guess we should head out.” Levi shouldered his gun and started his descent.

“Speaking of,” Eren grunted, flinching a bit when he stretched his arm too far and pulled his stitches. “Where are we headed?”

“We’re going to sneak into the Marlian army base.” Levi gracefully dropped to the ground. Eren landed next to him.

“ _What_?” Eren hissed in his ear. Levi duly noted that he was impressed Eren remembered to keep his voice down.

“Don’t worry.” Levi waved Eren off with a smirk. “I have a friend there who can help us.”

Levi and Eren travelled for most of the night, ending, by Levi’s estimates, about a day’s hike from the base and maybe a few hours from the border. Covered by overgrown brush, the two cuddled close together the entire night. Even in sleep Levi’s arms were able to let go of Eren now that he finally had him. They awoke still clinging to each other and instead of getting up like normal, Levi took the time to bury his face in his new lover’s shoulder.

All at once the body under him stiffened as Eren awoke. Levi rightened himself to look down at his partner. Large, gem-like eyes blinked at his uniform, not sparing at glance in the older man’s direction. There was a feral panic in his eyes and that’s when Levi realized Eren didn’t know where he was. To him, Levi was a faceless Marlian. Still the enemy. He was at war.

Before Eren could truly react, Levi grabbed hold of his chin and forced his face up. His eyes naturally followed, tracking and reading Levi’s face. Like he was deflating, Eren’s muscles relaxed and he released a deep breath of relief. Tanned arms circled around Levi’s back and pulled him back in.

“Levi.” Eren’s voice was low and breathy from sleep. It made Levi’s heart skip a beat. “It’s just you.”

They were simple words, but to Levi it was an acceptance of everything he ever was. A thief, a soldier, an enemy. It was just him and that was all that mattered to Eren.

Levi lay there, content against Eren’s chest, listening to the calming heartbeat. The warmth from the body below him seeped into his bones, heating him like a hearth. Little puffs of air from Eren’s nose stirred his hair slightly and that’s when Levi felt it. For the first time, he was at peace.

“I had a dream about us,” Levi whispered finally and untangled them just enough to press a kiss to Eren’s lips. He pulled back to avoid assaulting Eren with his morning breath. “We were flying amongst the trees. On cables.”

“I remember that.” Eren smiled and pulled Levi back down, clearly not having any issues with poor hygiene. Levi pulled a face. “You were amazing.”

“You stink,” Levi complained, pushing himself away. Eren tried to tug him down with a pout.

“We’re camping in the middle of the forest and haven’t bathed in days, we both stink.” Eren chuckled and jerked Levi again, this time succeeding in making him fall back onto his golden chest. Levi grumbled but didn’t pull away. Eren spoke again, quieter this time.

“Why do you think we only remember each other?” Eren asked, stroking Levi’s back. The question had been gnawing at Levi’s brain as well.

“I’m not sure,” Levi responded in an equally low voice. An idea loomed at the back of his mind. He licked his lips, gearing up to talk. 

“Maybe,” Levi started. “It’s because of how strongly we felt about each other. In our past lives.”

“Like soulmates? Love that crosses time and universe?” Levi could hear the teasing in his voice. “I didn’t take you to be the romantic type, Levi.”

“I’m plenty romantic,” Levi groused, not looking up to avoid seeing Eren’s face. “Brat.”

“I like it.” Eren pressed a kiss to the top of Levi’s head. Levi took in a deep breath, revelling in the feeling and letting himself forget about the danger they were in, if only for a minute.

By late afternoon, the gray slated roof of the military compound peaked above the trees. Levi decided to stop, getting too close with the sun still burning above was dangerous. Thankfully, it was already beginning to set. Eren shifted beside him.

“So this friend of yours,” Eren started, eyes darting around the forest nervously. He was practically vibrating. “They… won’t turn us in, right?”

Levi looped an arm around Eren’s waist and rubbed small circles in his hip in a comforting motion. The tension in the young man’s body seemed to loosen a little.

“I trust her,” Levi reassured. “I’ve known her since I was on the streets. She’s like family.”

Eren bit his lip and nodded, relaxed but still unsure.

As soon as the first few stars blinked into life in the night sky, Levi was on the move. He felt behind him, leaving a hand on Eren’s thigh to ensure the man was still there. A living, breathing non-illusion. As they crouched closer to the compound, Eren stayed flesh and blood.

Levi quickly maneuvered around the perimeter, searching for a certain window. Seven from the left, first floor. He started counting until a large explosion brightened, and then darkened, a window. Levi grimaced at the now glowing, gray glass. That’s it.

Turning to his newfound lover, Levi signalled with two fingers for Eren to follow after him. Eren dipped his head once to signal that he understood. Levi sprinted.

No one seemed to notice the two dark figures running across the empty lawn and soon they found themselves pressed up against the outer walls.

An errant nail dug itself into Levi’s back. He started to make a mental note to come out and hammer it back in, but then Eren gripped his hand. Levi looked over at the tanned man, he was skittishly scanning the area around them. Levi squeezed back. Right. He was leaving.

Levi brought his hand up and tapped at the glass lightly. Only a few seconds later, the window was thrust open and an equally blackened face with a high, brown pony tail popped out. Hanji was wearing a pair of goggles with smudges on them. She must have tried to wipe them off. Levi pulled out a handkerchief.

“At least clean your goggles properly,” Levi groused instead of a real greeting and pulled the offending article of clothing off.

Hanji jumped, turning to blink owlishly at the two men. The clear patch only around her eyes added to the look. A wide grin split her face. She opened her mouth to undoubtedly shout an obnoxious greeting, but then Eren moved. Her eyes fell on the young man, dropping to his pants. A light gray-blue color compared to the Marlian green.

Her eyebrows raised. Levi shook his head. Hanji turned back into her lab.

“Moblit!” She announced. “Would you be a dear and get some cleaning supplies for me, please. I’m going to need the special spray from the third floor.”

There was a huff of agreement and shuffling before Levi heard Hanji’s assistant, and husband, leave.

Levi popped his head through the window in time to see Hanji locking the door to her soot-stained and abused office. She beckoned him in. Levi clambered gracefully through the window. He motioned for Eren to follow, scoffing as he fell on his face as he tried to worm his way through.

“I thought you were dead,” Hanji said once both men were in the room. She pulled a black and dusty chair from around her desk and plopped down while Levi closed the window again. “We all did. Levi, Erwin was a wreck. He didn’t think your team would- or could- be taken out and-. Are the rest of them…?”

Hanji looked up with searching eyes and easily found the answer written across Levi’s face.

“It was a surprise attack. At night. I’m the only one who made it out,” Levi explained tersely. He gulped down the images of his bloody, dead-eyes comrades. Hanji looked at him pityingly, an expression Levi hated. It made him squirm.

“So what’s the story with him?” Hanji asked, nodding at Eren who was currently standing a half step behind Levi like he was hiding.

“This is Eren,” Levi explained calmly, knowing whatever he said wasn’t going to do justice to the emotional rollercoaster he had been through with the former enemy. “His unit is dead too and we are running away together.”

Hanji looked stunned, her eyes wide and lips slightly parted. Levi could practically hear the cogs turning in her brain as she tried to make sense of his words. Add some sort of context to them that made them make sense. A breath hitched behind him and he knows it’s Eren. Levi didn’t dare look back at him. No doubt he was also in shock over Levi’s bluntness.

“You’re… deserting?” Hanji asked slowly, as if still trying to make sense of the whole situation. Levi nodded sharply once. “You’re deserting with this boy to…?” She trailed off to look for an explanation. A look of horror suddenly overtook her face. “You’re not joining the other side are you?”

“No,” Levi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The mere thought of explaining himself was exhausting. “It’s a bit hard to explain. Eren and I… knew each other. Like old friends. And now we are going to go be… more than friends?”

“We knew each other in a past life and learned we love each other,” Eren answered more simply. Levi turned around to stare at the boy like he had just told the world that Levi liked to play with dolls. With a mixture of anger, terror and humiliation because Hanji was most definitely going to make fun of him for this. Eren was looking past him to Hanji with those earnest, sincere eyes like he didn’t know the meaning of lying. He hated how much he loved those eyes. Loved him and his stupid, single-minded determination.

“I see,” Hanji said from behind him and Levi was startled enough to look back to where she sat. She looked totally accepting, not at all like she was holding back peels of laughter like he had expected. “Just like me and Moblit.”

“What?”

The question came from both Levi and Eren as the scientist smiled blindingly.

“Me and Moblit! Let me guess, you saw each other and had flashbacks, feelings, all that good stuff?” Hanji looked between them excitedly and when neither of them answered her fingers inched towards her desk. She snatched up a cloth-wrapped notebook. Uncovering it, he noticed it was the only object totally saved from the blast. Figured. “Oh I have to take notes. Please, go into detail.” A pen was produced from her pocket and she opened to a fresh page, already jotting down notes. “Oh this is so exciting! First me and Moblit, Erwin, and now you guys!”

“Erwin?” Levi questioned but was overshadowed as Hanji continued talking.

“What was the instance that triggered the first image? For me it was when I started explaining my research on the asexual reproduction in the dandelion to Moblit and he groaned. For him when I went on a tangent on… something.” Eren and Levi found themselves on the end of an expectant stare.

“Uh, well for me it was when I heard his name-” Eren started.

“Eren,” Levi reprimanded. “We don’t have time for this. Hanji, I need you to get in touch with Farland to let him know we need new IDs-”

“Very interesting,” Hanji spoke over Levi. “Just his name. Maybe a stronger connection?” She tapped her pen on her chin twice before writing something down. When she finished, she finally addressed Levi. “And don’t worry about a thing, Levi. I’ll get you two lovebirds out of here.”

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose, grunting aggravation.

“Great, he should probably be in-”

 _Knock knock_.

Two large thumps came from the other side of the door.

“Hanji,” the long-suffering voice of Hanji’s husband floated through the thin wood. He sounded utterly exhausted. “I got the spray. Why did you lock the door?”

Hanji’s eyes flickered to the door and she held a finger to her lips telling the two to be quiet.

“And did I hear voices?” Moblit asked, voice starting to take on a high-pitched whiny tone. “Please tell me you didn’t find new ‘research subjects.’”

“We can trust him,” Hanji whispered back to the two runaways. Eren looked to Levi for confirmation and he nodded. He trusted Moblit.

“I’m unlocking the door now, Moblit. But please be quiet,” she added at the end once she had turned the key.

“No more of those noise sensitive plants, Hanji. You always kill them,” Moblit complained and Hanji swung the door open.

Moblit stood in the doorway, a bucket of supplies in hand, and right behind him stood Erwin. 

As big as a mountain with the broad muscles to match, Erwin should, logically, never be scared of anything. Yet looking inside Hanji’s room, his face was the twist of terror, longing, and regret that could only be described as the face of one meeting the ghost of a loved one not long after sending them to the gallows. Moblit still hadn’t looked up.

“The commander heard the explosion, wanted to check up on you. Especially with Levi missing and all…” Moblit finally spotted the very much alive Levi and his voice trailed off.

“Levi,” Erwin breathed and stepped forward unconsciously, shoving Moblit away. It was like a last plea for air from a dying man, broken and desperate, but Levi took a step back, landing against Eren’s chest. For the first time, the blond man’s gaze landed on Eren. One of those large hands reached to the gun perpetually holstered to his belt.

Fear lit up in Levi’s chest, so overwhelmingly strong that for a moment he stopped breathing. Eren seemed to notice and gently grasped one of Levi’s hands. They were shaking.

“Erwin!” Hanji shouted, leaning forward to stop Erwin from drawing his gun. “How about we all come inside and talk this out?”

Erwin’s hand released the handle of his gun with stiff fingers as though they didn’t actually want to stop. He took a step into the room, Moblit closely behind, and Hanji finally let the door shut, trapping the trainwreck of a meeting.

“What’s going on?” Erwin asked, eyes still glued to the interaction between Levi and Eren. His attention was now focused solely where Eren and Levi linked hands. “And who is this?”

“This is Eren,” Levi introduced for the second time that night. “And we are running away together.”

At the last announcement, Eren gave a small squeeze to Levi’s hand. No doubt he realized the stress of their current situation. In potentially unfriendly barracks, outnumbered, and facing the commander of the region’s troops.

Erwin’s eyes closed, his eyebrows coming tight together, and he fell back with a thump against the closed door. The thin piece of wood seemed to be the only thing holding him up. He was still and remained silent for a moment. The whole room waited for him to speak with bated breath, the air in the room too stale and strained for proper breathing.

“You finally found him.” Levi watched as the man’s face softened into a serene sort of sorrow. Levi’s heart clenched at the man he called a friend opened his eyes again, focused entirely on Levi this time.

“What?” Levi asked, taken aback. “Finally?”

“Nothing.” Levi felt uncomfortable tingles race across his body under Erwin’s scrutiny. “It’s something you used to talk about.”

And then it clicked. Hanji, Moblit, Eren, Levi and _Erwin_ all had memories from their past. Centered about one specific person. Hanji remembered Moblit and Moblit remembered Hanji. Eren remembered Levi and Levi remembered Eren. That left Erwin.

Erwin who, for years, bore the title as Levi’s best friend. Who was always there for him. The warm and heavy hand in Levi’s twitched as if noticing his discomfort and a thumb started to rub circles around his knuckles. The small movement, Eren, grounded him. Maybe Levi was being selfish, but he reserved the right as much as anyone else.

“If you have something to say or are going to try to stop us,” Levi said, untangling his fingers from Eren’s and taking long strides to stand in front of Erwin. “Then you better do it now.”

Erwin shook his head, as if to deny Levi’s claims. Levi was stunned. He could not, and probably never would, comprehend what was going through Erwin’s mind because he would have never let go of Eren that easily.

“I doubt there’s much I could do,” Erwin said and Levi recognized that Erwin was convincing himself. “I take it the rest of your squad is dead then?”

“Surprise night attack,” Levi elaborated.

“I’ll be sure to keep your name among the dead.”

When Levi and Erwin’s eyes met, an understanding crossed between them.

“Thank you,” Levi said. “For this and all you’ve done.”

“From my perspective it was all fate, bound to happen again anyways,” Erwin said, a mischievous smirk rising to cross this face. Levi scoffed in disbelief.

“You’re so convoluted I wouldn’t be surprised if your shit came out twisted.” Erwin let out a bark of laughter. “You’ll have to explain sometime.” 

“I will, but for now you better leave. This base is for military personnel only. Have you told Hanji everything you needed to?” Levi turned to Hanji, who was watching the exchange in with great wide-eyed interest, her notebook hanging open with her pen hovering above the surface.

“Where we grew up,” Levi told her and the woman scribbled something into the margins of the pages. Levi turned to take a rigid and bemused young man’s hand. Eren’s green irises rose to meet Levi’s gray ones and the older man’s breath got caught in his throat.

He was doing this. He was running away with this beautiful young man whom he loved across time and space itself.

“We should go,” he told Eren and Eren seemed to wake from his daze.

“Ah yeah. Do we… Do we need to get supplies or something? From your room maybe.” Eren asked. Levi’s mouth twisted and he purposefully looked at Erwin.

“Nah, I’m dead, remember? Plus, I’m not a thief.” Erwin gave him a fond look.

“Oh my god, you drama queens,” Hanji spoke up, looking between Erwin and Levi. She ran over to a wardrobe, rummaging through it. “It’s not stealing if I give it to you. So here.” Hanji threw a few items at Levi. Reflexes working even when surprised he caught them. “Some soap and a new shirt for you and Eren. They are Moblit’s.” Moblit let out a little squawk, something about one of them being his favorite. Hanji hushed him. “Plus, I know how you like to stay clean.”

“Thanks, Hanji,” Levi said and the woman squealed, jumping forward to envelop the both of them in a hug.

“Goodbye, shortstack,” Hanji said, her voice muffled in Levi’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself and your boy there, got it?”

“Goodbye,” Levi replied and allowed himself a rare moment of affection, wrapping an arm around Hanji to give her a squeeze before letting go.

Levi lifted his chin in a jerking motion to signal a farewell to Moblit and the commander. He tossed a shirt to Eren and turned to the window to leave, trusting the young man to follow.

“And Levi!” Erwin called after him. Levi stopped and turned his head slightly to the left to signal that he was listening. “Be careful, a pointless death wouldn’t suit you.”

There was a faint rumbling in Levi’s mind as his words tickled upon some long forgotten memory. It was an intense feeling of deja vu.

“No I doubt it would anymore than it suits anyone else.” Erwin’s throat spasmed and his eyes looked hopeful. Levi pulled Eren to his side. “But dying for the chance to be with Eren isn’t pointless.”

Erwin nodded, his smile looking strained as he looked at the pair.

“I’ll find you two after the war is over. Until then, stay safe.”

Levi’s eyes studied Erwin’s face, finding a sincerity there.

“Don’t die, eyebrows.” And Levi jumped out the window, Eren following quickly after and landing on his back. With a clack, the dirtied window shut, offering them some privacy.

Bending over, Levi met Eren’s eyes as the taller one made it to his knees. With Levi crouching and Eren kneeling they were finally level with one another. Levi admired the careless beauty of the other man and basked in the returned affection found in his eyes. Levi brought a hand to Eren’s cheek, gently cupping the side of the younger’s face.

“Let’s go find the ocean,” Levi whispered.

Eren’s face split open and the young man beamed back at him, bright enough to light up the dark world surrounding them.

“I still barely know you,” Eren teased. Levi snorted and rose to his feet. He extended a hand to pull Eren up. Eren didn’t let go and Levi wondered if he enjoyed the feeling of holding hands as much as he did. Levi lent forward, rising to the tips of his toes to press his mouth against Eren’s. He spoke, lips remaining and moving against Eren's.

“We have time.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Levi this chapter: I take your crazy and I raise.  
> Eren: But... it's your crazy.  
> Levi: I still raise it.  
> Eren: By-by how much?  
> Levi: The limit does not exist.
> 
> Thank you to all my lovely readers. I appreciate those who stuck around to reach the whole thing through. It was an absolute blast to write this and see it through to the end. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> As always, comments are greatly appreciated.


	4. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter, later and sadder than I intended, but I hope you all like it.

Green cloaks fluttered in the pregnant, pre-storm wind, swirling around the two figures as they walked along the cliff edge. Beneath them, waves crashed, licking at the rock and trying to get a taste of them. The smaller of the two figures teased the angry waves, leaning over the side precariously. They were pulled back with a disgruntled grunt by their larger companion.

“Please don’t get yourself killed. We’re almost there.”

“ _Fine_ ,” the smaller one whined, backing a few paces away. The swirling waters battered the rocks in outrage.

A few moments later, a small white house came into view. Boxy with the standard gray slate roof, small puffing chimney and a neatly manicured garden out front, the only thing remarkable about the house was its location. It was maybe 100 meters from the ledge looking out into the vast, grey-skied sea connected to a white and black lighthouse whose beams had already started to penetrate the clouds.

The smaller traveler bounced, sprinting to the door across the stony ledge. Their companion snorted and followed at a less risky pace to the door his friend was already knocking on.

There was the sound of banging before a short man with glaring eyes more piercing than the lighthouse beams opened the door.

“Levi!” The shorter figure shouted, throwing off her hood to reveal a bushy brown ponytail. Despite the passage of time and the addition of an eyepatch, it was unmistakably Hanji. She jumped on the short man, enveloping him in a bear hug.

Four years ago, such a greeting would have ended in the woman flat on her ass in half a second flat, but when Levi opted to instead wrap an arm around her it seemed sentiment had taken root.

“Great, more uninvited house guests,” Levi grumbled as Hanji pulled away. He turned to glare up at his other unwelcome guest, a large blond man. Under dark undereye bags, scruff was starting to ghost the edges of his chin and he was missing an arm. Evenso, Levi would always know the face of his best friend. “I hope you realize one of you is going to have to sleep on the couch.”

“Nice to see you too, Levi. Mind if we come in, looks like it’s going to storm out there,” Erwin commented. Levi shifted aside begrudgingly. From somewhere deeper inside the house there came a feminine shout. 

“Who’s at the door?” Erwin turned an eyebrow up at his once friend.

“You live with a woman now? What about Eren?”

Levi would have to be blind to miss the poorly disguised sourness in his tone.

“Eren’s in the lighthouse, getting started early ‘cause that storm you just mentioned.” Levi didn’t bother explaining the female voice, knowing soon the source itself would come lurking out of the darkness herself in a matter of moments. He couldn’t blame her for the suspicion, but the war had ended over a year ago and her continued insistence to play guard dog at their house anytime she visited was becoming tiresome.

Sure enough, a slim, yet toned, black-haired woman emerged from a hallway, eyes narrowed and looking two seconds away from attack. Behind her followed a lanky blond man who had a hold of her sleeve, trying to convince her to calm down.

“You really don’t have to do this _every_ time, ‘Kasa,” he gently insisted, but it was two late and she was busy staring down the older adults in the room. She shot an accusing glare at Levi like he had just let in the devil. Levi sighed.

“Mikasa, Armin, these are old friends of time, Erwin and Hanji.”

Understanding was quick to make Mikasa and Armin both stiffen, but neither extended a hand in greeting. Mikasa just looked between the three older adults before nodding and grabbing Armin’s arm.

“Come, we’re going to go join Eren in the lighthouse.”

Armin let Mikasa drag him out of the house without complaint.

“Friends of Eren’s?” Hanji asked, watching them leave with interest. “I’ve heard of both of them. Eldian war heros.”

“Hero or not, it doesn’t matter now,” Levi said, shuffling his friends into the sitting room. “War’s been over for a while. But yes, they’re friends of Eren’s. He made us track them down as soon as the treaty was signed.”

“You never looked for us,” Erwin said. The words and tone were chosen carefully, not quite accusing but more curious.

“You said you’d find me.” Levi shrugged. He made himself comfortable in an armchair and was nearly swallowed whole by the cushions. It was really Eren’s seat, much too big for Levi, but, although he would never tell his lover, the smaller man liked to sit there when Eren worked the lighthouse alone. It smelt like him. “I decided to take your word for it.”

“Aw, that’s no fair,” Hanji whined and dropped down to a couch across from them dramatically. Erwin was more delicate in sitting down. He was more delicate in general.

“So, a lighthouse,” Erwin commented, looking around the small house. “It’s a nice place.”

“Eren wanted to be near the sea.” Levi’s lips twitched up at the memory of finding the job and house that came with it. Eren’s eyes had lit up in a way they hadn’t when they first saw the ocean in their past lives. 

“It’s nice here,” Levi continued. “Simple. What about you two? Moblit?”

The last question was directed at Hanji and she immediately stopped bouncing on their cushions. A sad smile crossed her face

“Dead,” she said. "He saved me and died. Again." Erwin placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, a much more familiar gesture than it had been when Levi left. Ever bad at words, Levi didn’t know what to say.

“Next life?” He asked, hoping the words didn’t come off as crude as they sounded to him. Hanji seemed to understand and laughed a little dryly.

“Next life,” she responded, laying a hand over Erwin’s.

The blond’s intense blue eyes were now locked onto his.

“Have you remembered?”

The question came faster than Levi expected it to, the conversation moving at a pace he was unfamiliar with.

“No,” Levi answered. Erwin’s face fell. “I’ve tried, but it doesn’t matter. Eren and I both decided a while ago that this life was made for new memories, not the old.”


End file.
